The PIERCE BROSNAN Appreciation thread - Discuss His Life, His Career, His Bond Films

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  • Posts: 1,162
    The Thomas Crown Affair is an absolute gem. I prefer it over the original.

    I really can't say I feel that way. The chess game in the original alone makes it stand head and shoulders above the remake.
  • NSGWNSGW London
    Posts: 299
    The Thomas Crown Affair is an absolute gem. I prefer it over the original.

    I really can't say I feel that way. The chess game in the original alone makes it stand head and shoulders above the remake.

    +1 McQueen and Dunaway are a near unbeatable duo for me, but the remake is decent in its own right.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Agent_99 wrote: »
    I still need to see Tailor, Thomas Crown Affair and Seraphim Falls though, three that I think I'll enjoy him in as well.

    I very much want to see Tailor too. I read the novel recently and Bros is just perfect for the character (good-looking, everyone likes him, but something untrustworthy below the surface).
    I think it's easily his best role. He's pitch perfect in it. He's also superb in the recent The Foreigner (again, fits like a glove).

    I'm intrigued by that trailer. Guy Pearce rarely lets me down either.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    I know you're not the biggest fan of his Bond wise, but what did you say your favorite non-Bond film of his is?

    I haven't seen as much of his stuff as I've wanted to, but I think he excels with morally ambiguous or darkly amusing characters. He really nailed that aspect in The Matador but I've probably been most impressed with him in The November Man not only because I wish he got to do something closer to that than his Bond films, but also because he really did a great job playing a morally gray man while also doing some brutal stunts. It's a role that played to his strengths as a character actor.

    I still need to see Tailor, Thomas Crown Affair and Seraphim Falls though, three that I think I'll enjoy him in as well.

    I think I've known you long enough now to say that I feel you'd enjoy those three. I do hope so, anyway, especially The Tailor of Panama and Seraphim Falls.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited October 2017 Posts: 15,423
    The Thomas Crown Affair is an absolute gem. I prefer it over the original.

    I really can't say I feel that way. The chess game in the original alone makes it stand head and shoulders above the remake.
    Yes, but like I said, the original is all about beautiful visuals, romantic landscapes (that narrow cobblestone street at a late evening for example they seemed to have been coming back from a formal date), and that famous chess scene. The story only makes a point about Crown wanting to beat the system towards the end of the second act. And that's all.

    The remake on the other hand tells a more compelling story and develops the characters so you'd understand them better. You know there's a game of cat and mouse in the remake between Thomas Crown and Miss Insurance Investigator. The original doesn't capitalize on that, thus leaving some things that connected the two unresolved.

    As a classical romantic, the original wins it for me.
    As a film overall? The remake. No contest.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    @bondjames, et al, who enjoyed THE FOREIGNER...

    http://deadline.com/2017/10/the-foreigner-wayne-marc-godfrey-interview-stx-sparkle-roll-china-co-production-box-office-1202196127/

    Shows how China is really becoming a heavyweight in the industry...
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited October 2017 Posts: 23,883
    Thanks for posting @peter. Interesting article. The Foreigner's China gross is very close to SP's. The salient point which I noticed is this:

    "Plus, 40% of the Chinese box office flows back to the partners rather than the usual 25% because of the co-production status."

    People always comment on Bond's higher box office outside of the US, but many don't realize that the share of profits retained is likely less from such foreign markets. Well, we know MGM tried to sell to the Chinese last year, and if that deal had gone through, then presumably more of B25's overseas Chinese profit would have been retained, based on the above.

    I wouldn't be surprised if they try to make a deal with them again after B25's release, since that market is becoming very important.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    The Chinese are changing the way the studios are playing. It'll be interesting to see what happens post B25-- they have their eye on 007.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    peter wrote: »
    The Chinese are changing the way the studios are playing. It'll be interesting to see what happens post B25-- they have their eye on 007.

    Bond #7:

    main-qimg-834ba5208ffbfd8b4599e7eccc95acfe
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited October 2017 Posts: 4,585
    Over the years, I have wondered something about PB, which I am sure was addressed here long ago. But humor me here...

    Why in the world did he feel compelled to honor his Remington Steele contract? I am sure that given the circumstances and given the TV show's dwindling viewership, Brosnan would have had a good reason to escape. And something tells me that Cubby and MGM could have made that happen. Field and Chowdhury (in Some Kind of Hero) only go with Brosnan's version: he was tied to doing the series. I say "bull." There was something elsle going on there.

    In any case, one observation I have made, in reviewing Brosnan's films, is that as the storylines got more ridiculous, he actually got better and better in the role. DAD was maybe his best performance. Thoughts?

  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited October 2017 Posts: 1,984
    I maintain that GE is Brosnan's best, if only because the surrounding cast and director were so good that they brought the best out of him. But he had good chemistry, confidence and managed to keep himself from overacting.

    DAD is good because Brosnan manages to not overreact in it unlike his middle two films. And he definitely captured a lot of Bond's suave and confident nature, but I find he did both of those things better in GE (as well as better "acting").
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I agree @ForeYourEyesOnly that GE comes off as Brosnan at his best, and a lot of that is also down to the fact that everything around him is pretty damn good too, lifting things up and giving him something to work with. GE is the real film of his era, something that works not just as a popcorn flick/piece of entertainment, but as a movie's movie. All the films that followed double down on letting everyone know they're Bond films, often going so far as to feel like bad pastiches for me in their attempts at exaggeration.

    I think those elements in TND, TWINE and DAD don't do Brosnan any favors, and his performance can suffer in light of what he's given to work with and what he is surrounded by plot wise that bring him down just as those good elements in GE bring him up. I hear some people who call DAD his best performance, but what is surrounding him-bad acting, dialogue, characters, plot and more-really take away the shine that is there and for me GE is where he actually got the most to work with in the highest amount of quality. Basically, GE is the major film of his where he's not only good, but also the one whose contents outside of himself are those he doesn't have to feel embarrassed about.

    I'll be rewatching the era for the first time in a long time sometime soon, so I'll have to see if my impressions on him have changed and what his best performance feels like after a reinvestigation.
  • Major_BoothroydMajor_Boothroyd Republic of Isthmus
    Posts: 2,722
    I thought Brosnan was perfectly cast in The Ghost Writer. He really suited that charming, compromised character so well and had good chemistry with MacGregor and Olivia Williams.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited October 2017 Posts: 23,883
    I agree with both of you @ForYourEyesOnly and @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 . GE remains my favourite Brosnan performance, because not only were his acting excesses kept in check, but the tremendous supporting cast elevated him. However I think he personally did a better job in DAD, if that makes any sense. He was the standout for me (along with Pike) in his last film, whereas GE was more of an ensemble.

    I feel the same way about CR vs QoS to be honest (the earlier film was a tremendous team effort while the later film is all Craig. I prefer him in CR but that's because he had better material to work with and played superbly off his co-stars).

    @Major_Boothroyd , agreed on The Ghost Writer. I really wish he had a larger role in that film because he was a treat to watch whenever he was on screen.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    @bondjames, I guess in a way a lot of the other content in DAD could in fact inadvertently make Pierce seem even more on his game in contrast to some lesser elements, whereas in GE is lost in a lot of good and not as overtly impressive because of the other quality elements. It's always been difficult for me to see a good performance in a bad film, so I'll have to be on the lookout when I see DAD again to discover if I see this view of Pierce that others have.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited October 2017 Posts: 23,883
    Yes, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 , perhaps I am more impressed with him in DAD due to the nonsense that surrounds him in that effort. However, I really think he demonstrates a natural Bondian confidence in his last film which I always knew he had, but which he failed to demonstrate for me until then.

    Brosnan lived up to the 'promise of Brosnan as Bond' in DAD. What some of us always wanted to see from him. It's just as shame he did it in that film. He showed the same confidence in The Tailor of Panama which was released in the prior year (my favourite performance from him) and in After The Sunset.
  • edited October 2017 Posts: 11,189
    DAD is probably his most confident performance but, on a very through re-evaluation, I'm not sure it's his best. He has too many poor/weak scenes.

    -the hospital scene with M.
    -threatening Xao at the MRI machine.
    -his dialogue with Jinx
    -reviving Jinx
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    -reviving Jinx
    This I didn't like (shades of Brosnan's bog standard overacting). The rest I was fine with (especially his initial encounter with Jinx. I thought he was excellent in that scene. She's the one who overplayed imho).
  • edited October 2017 Posts: 11,189
    ill give you that. Brosnan at least seems aware of how crap the dialogue is and is just having fun by deliberately overdoing the sleaze. Halle is far too cocky.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited October 2017 Posts: 1,984
    I think the big difference is that Brosnan's portrayal in GE is taut, well-trimmed and classic Bond. It's something I could envision actually ranking alongside some of the better portrayals of Bond that we've ever seen. Whereas with DAD, Brosnan's portrayal is mostly just "not a letdown" for the film, and it's not something that particularly comes to mind when I think of good Bond performances. It's good that his acting isn't as forced as in the last two but he's still only "good" in the role. In GE he's genuinely fantastic, and I really wouldn't use that kind of praise on his DAD performance.

    TND is up-and-down and I agree with most people that his performance in TWINE feels forced in quite a few areas. Definitely one of the weakest portrayals of Bond to date, though Brosnan still managed a few killer moments (like his disposal of Elektra).
  • edited October 2017 Posts: 11,189
    The hospital scene is an example of where his acting feels forced. There's almost an amateur-dramatics vibe to it and you can sense he's trying to act.

    Compare that to his more reserved (some would say stiff) GE performance in the cell with Natalya and he comes off far better in that.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited October 2017 Posts: 23,883
    I'd say that the strength of his GE performance comes more from Campbell (and the script) than Brosnan. In DAD however, Brosnan exceeds his brief (and Tamahori's direction).
  • Posts: 11,189
    Campbell did a good job of reigning Brosnan in.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Brosnan did a terrific job in DAD. Period.
  • edited October 2017 Posts: 11,189
    I'm not sure what to think of his performance here. It seems a bit overacted ("you buurn me"), though I do like his line at the very end as the Bond music kicks in.



  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    How is it overacted when he merely speaks the line without shouting or crying or getting intense even?
  • edited October 2017 Posts: 11,189
    How is it overacted when he merely speaks the line without shouting or crying or getting intense even?

    It's the way he tips his head as he says it as if he's giving the line dramatic emphasis. Maybe i'm looking too much into it.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I don't have a problem with this scene. Yes, he is dramatic with the 'burned me' but he had reason to be due to his treatment at the hands of the North Koreans.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423


    Found this online, and the music gives the footage a whole lot of a different perspective and tone.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    edited November 2017 Posts: 5,131
    I think the big difference is that Brosnan's portrayal in GE is taut, well-trimmed and classic Bond. It's something I could envision actually ranking alongside some of the better portrayals of Bond that we've ever seen. Whereas with DAD, Brosnan's portrayal is mostly just "not a letdown" for the film, and it's not something that particularly comes to mind when I think of good Bond performances. It's good that his acting isn't as forced as in the last two but he's still only "good" in the role. In GE he's genuinely fantastic, and I really wouldn't use that kind of praise on his DAD performance.

    TND is up-and-down and I agree with most people that his performance in TWINE feels forced in quite a few areas. Definitely one of the weakest portrayals of Bond to date, though Brosnan still managed a few killer moments (like his disposal of Elektra).

    Great post. I will also add that it was a good job Brosnan missed out on the role in 1987. In 95 he looked great as Bond, but in 87 he was too young, or rather looked too young.
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